It's been my experience, and I'm sure ClieOS can correct me if I'm wrong, that the farther in your ear the IEM goes, the better the isolation. IEMs like those from Westone that barely go in your ear canal really don't isolate that well.

Deep insertion generally does improve isolation, but a major contributor of isolation is simply the material and design of the IEM housing. Westone actually can be inserted into the canal deeply and does provide very good isolation.

Whenever I'm on a plane with the er4s, and the Stewardess comes up and starts waving her hands around to get my attention, I'm struck by how loud the ambient sound level is and how well the Etymotics block it.

Whenever I'm on a plane with the er4s, and the Stewardess comes up and starts waving her hands around to get my attention, I'm struck by how loud the ambient sound level is and how well the Etymotics block it.

I agree. I took my ER4S with me on a 7 hour flight last month, and when I had to take them out to tell the stewardess what I wanted, it actually shocked and hurt my ears how loud it was inside the plane. lol.

One important note: When I was moving from the terminal to the airplane, I didn't even have to touch the volume at all, which speaks alot for how well they isolate, which is important for the protection if your hearing. If you travel alot, the Etymotics are a great investment. I never travel without them.

I once made the HUGE mistake of bringing Sennheiser IE8's with me on an airplane, and I had to nearly max out the volume on my ipod to hear anything. At that point, it's going to cause damage to my hearing, so I ended up not listening to anything while on the plane.... from California to Hong Kong.... for 14 hours.... =*(

I agree. I took my ER4S with me on a 7 hour flight last month, and when I had to take them out to tell the stewardess what I wanted, it actually shocked and hurt my ears how loud it was inside the plane. lol.

One important note: When I was moving from the terminal to the airplane, I didn't even have to touch the volume at all, which speaks alot for how well they isolate, which is important for the protection if your hearing. If you travel alot, the Etymotics are a great investment. I never travel without them.

I once made the HUGE mistake of bringing Sennheiser IE8's with me on an airplane, and I had to nearly max out the volume on my ipod to hear anything. At that point, it's going to cause damage to my hearing, so I ended up not listening to anything while on the plane.... from California to Hong Kong.... for 14 hours.... =*(

Ouch! I've done that before and it really gets you down when you have to put them away because you can't do anything unless if you don't care about your ears :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danz03

Agreed, the ER4s may have better isolation, but the UM3X's isolation is good enough for me for plane journeys/commuting/working out at the gym, and are much more comfortable to wear.

the isolation for my UM3Xs is indeed very satisfying, but I'm still scared to bring them outside my mini-studio. Although I did hear they are really durable, so maybe I should just trust myself more. I use the Fischer Audio Eternas for the gym right now, but it's hard to use them at home because the mid-bass hump is MASSIVE!

Update: So I got the Etys just a few minutes ago. One word: OUTSTANDING. The isolation is beyond incredible and they go in so deep, I get scared, and I NEVER get scared with having earphones in deep. The bass impact surprisingly is better than my CK10s, which I wasn't expecting. Maybe it's because of the better fit? Here's the thing, angled earphones are the only things that work for me. My right ear canal is strange and no straight facing earphone would work with it, until now. The Etys fit better than anything I've had. The ambient noise hits zero, which is excellent when I put them and other noise hits zero after the music starts playing.

One more question though:

Can you damage your ear from sticking these in too deep? I know the consequences of loud music on the ear, but I'm not familiar with sticking things in REALLY deep. Anyways, I just put the gliders in and everything becomes really comfortable.

Update: So I got the Etys just a few minutes ago. One word: OUTSTANDING. The isolation is beyond incredible and they go in so deep, I get scared, and I NEVER get scared with having earphones in deep. The bass impact surprisingly is better than my CK10s, which I wasn't expecting. Maybe it's because of the better fit? Here's the thing, angled earphones are the only things that work for me. My right ear canal is strange and no straight facing earphone would work with it, until now. The Etys fit better than anything I've had. The ambient noise hits zero, which is excellent when I put them and other noise hits zero after the music starts playing.

One more question though:

Can you damage your ear from sticking these in too deep? I know the consequences of loud music on the ear, but I'm not familiar with sticking things in REALLY deep. Anyways, I just put the gliders in and everything becomes really comfortable.

I am glad you are enjoying your ER4 so much! From what I know (using the triple flanges and having it really deep), as long as the earphones aren't causing any painful discomfort, it'll be fine. It does take a bit to get used to the ER4's isolation... but once you do, it is an amazing piece of audio heaven.

I am glad you are enjoying your ER4 so much! From what I know (using the triple flanges and having it really deep), as long as the earphones aren't causing any painful discomfort, it'll be fine. It does take a bit to get used to the ER4's isolation... but once you do, it is an amazing piece of audio heaven.

Thanks! Yeah, they don't hurt in my ears, I was just worried if you could put them in so deep, that you risk breaking your ear drum or something :D. I doubt it though.

Can you damage your ear from sticking these in too deep? I know the consequences of loud music on the ear, but I'm not familiar with sticking things in REALLY deep. Anyways, I just put the gliders in and everything becomes really comfortable.

they will not reach your eardrum, even Ety said that themselves in their how-to-wear videos

but they do create suction, you have to break the seal first then pull them off slowly (try twist and pull)

pulling or pushing them too fast may cause damage to the eardrum and/or the ear canal